Professional Documents
Culture Documents
D. V.
S.C.
Principles of Language Learning Teaching
Annotated Bibliography Project December 1, 2008
Of the SLA perspectives presented to us in this course we focused on the
psychological evaluation of SLA. We have complied articles on the subjects of the
Critical Period Hypothesis, Input/Output, Connectionism, Learning
Strategies/Cognitive Styles and Motivation with the idea that as educators, the
more we understand of how students acquire language the better we will be able
to teach them the target language.
students would learn the target language effectively. The research content
in this article was intended for an audience of SL teachers.
Connectionism (Tenney McClane)
Glasser, Michael. Connectionism and universals of second language
acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 2 (1990): 179-199
For the past two decades the author, a professor of computer science and
cognitive science at Indiana University, has focused his academic research
on computational models of human language acquisition and language
behavior. This article, published nearly two decades ago, discusses the
challenge that connectionism presents to the symbolic models which have
dominated cognitive science. (This is a very small point, but APA requires
only one space after all punctuation, including periods.) Although Glassers
motivations are theoretical, he speaks of language with some heart-- at
the human quality that connectionism offers as a theory, in juxtaposition
to the very sterile outlook of traditional symbolic models of cognition.
Glasser doesnt attempt to define connectionist linguistics in absolute
terms, as he hints in his article it was a bit early to speak of a
connectionist theory of linguistic behavior at the time the article was
written, but rather aims to outline the implications the connectionist
theory has to the field of second language research.
Not only does the author explain the basic concepts involved in the
connectionist model, but he explains processing and learning within the
model, and also in relation to the behaviorist model. After introducing
connectionism in some detail, he proposes a unique framework for SLA
research, including tenets for both first and second language acquisition.
Glassers research then provides example simulations, in which a set of
simple simulations were executed to examine the usefulness of using
networks to study transfer in SLA. He provides graphs to show the
relationships between input and output patterns within L1 and L2 during
those simulations.
In the last few years Gassers motivation has evolved from purely
theoretical to social political. This article, which was his first academically
published article, preceded many more specific articles on connectionism
including the acquisition of morphology and the learning of nouns and
adjectives. Glassers latest article takes his research to the next level,
where he speaks of the future of indigenous languages in the world of
machine translation.
Ellis, Nick C. Emergentism, connectionism and language learning.
Language Learning v 48 no 4 (1998): 631-64.
The author, who has been professionally involved in the fields of
psychology and linguistics for the past quarter century, discusses various
theories of language acquisition, but concentrates on the light that the
connectionist approach can shine on the field of SLA. He paints a picture
as to where exactly connectionism is looking for processes of emergence
of linguistic phenomena. The author appreciates the ability of
connectionist theories ^to uncover dense data with an undemanding
process. Like Glasser whos article is mentioned above, Ellis concentrates
on the patternsand the ability of connectionism to provide more insight
into these patterns and also sketches an aura around the theory that is
warm in comparison to the more trusted traditional symbolic models.
The simulations that Ellis shares show how connectionism can uncover
language acquisition tendencies that are not controlled by the rules but
yet appear to live by them. It is the authors opinion, that a proper grasp
of linguistic phenomena will only come when the interaction of speakers,
syntax and semantics, the signifiers and the signifieds are explored
holistically-- Ellis believes that to truly understand language one must be
able to view it on linguists, psychological, psychological and neurological
planes. Again, like Glasser, Ellis sees the importance of connectionist
models as a way to uncover the complexity of language as a series of
connections that build up in the learner over time. He looks to the future
of language acquisition research for establishing formal models of how the
different domains of language interact, which may lead to an answer to
the big question: how is language acquired?
LEARNING STRATEGIES (Tiffany Key)
Delli Carpini, Margo. Success with ELLs. English Journal (High School
Edition). September 2008. Volume 98, Issue 1: page 98. Urbana.
This article was written in the first person perspective of an experienced
ESL teacher and teacher trainer in the United States. Delli Carpini began
by enlightening the reader regarding the typical ELL classroom in the past
when she began teaching then comparing it with the current standards for
ELLs and their teachers. Delli Carpini had tried several different teaching
strategies to meet the needs of her students that were considered
innovative at the time, though they are common now. An example was
her initiative to involve interdisciplinary topics in her lessons by working
with teachers from content classes to better help ELL students that were
not succeeding in such classes. Delli Carpini wanted to include the
specific content that the students were working on to present the
lessons in a sheltered way, scaffolding the students' language and content
learning. Though this is now common since ELLs have to take the
mandated content evaluations like the regular students under the No Child
Left Behind Act, then ELLs were left primarily in the hands of the ESL
teachers. In this article, Delli Carpini also addresses Jim Cummins'
theories on the different types of language learning that students must
undergo, namely Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and
Cognitive Academic Language Development (CALP). To help students
develop CALP, Delli Carpini suggests that teachers use Sheltered
Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) in both ESL and mainstream
courses as this approach involves a variety of methods that meet the
needs of all language learners.
Yoon, Bogum. "Uninvited Guests: The Influence of Teachers' Roles and
Pedagogies on the Positioning of English Language Learners in the
Regular Classroom. " American Educational Research Journal June 2008
Volume 45, Issue 2: pages 495-522. Washington.
Yoons main objective in this article is to create an understanding of how
teachers perceive of ELLs in their classroom and consequently position
themselves in regards to such students. It is evident from the research
that Yoon cites that many mainstream teachers consider ELLs a burden
and do not want them in their class as they feel that such students are the
responsibility of ESL instructors. And yet since the ELLs spent most of
their time in the regular classroom, how the teachers responded to them
became increasingly important to their language development as well as
the general knowledge. Students that felt ostracized, developed anxiety in
school, and thus their affective filter increased, making it difficult to
participate fully in their learning experience. Since the teachers attitude
often influences the students, ELLs with teachers who spent little time
focusing on them felt excluded from all aspects of the classroom. Yoon
went on to explain that it is the responsibility of the teacher to be aware of
their power in this situation and on how they are positioning themselves in
regards to ELLs. As Yoon states in the article, Theoretically, it seems
evident that teachers' positioning of ELLs as important and teachers'
response to their needs is crucial for the students to be able to view
themselves positively, which might influence their participation in
learning. Another point that Yoon makes is that there are two different
types of teachers: the conductor and the referral agents. Conductors
take on the responsibilities of having an ELL in their class while referral
agents delegate the responsibility to another teacher, namely the ESL
instructor. Conductors respond to both the language and content needs of
the student as well as the cultural and social needs and in doing so creates
a supportive environment for the ELLs. To support these declarations,
Yoon includes personal research in various classrooms that effectively
illustrate the thesis of this article with their vivid accounts.
family involvement were highly valued. The stories of the refugees were
shared with the professionals. Attention focused on exploring the
conceptual underpinning of academic language and content areas in the
classroom.
Participants stated how the stories compelled them to consider ELLs' prior
experiences and cultural backgrounds. This helped secure commitment of
Quest to support the efforts of the school district to service ELL in their
classes. It is through the efforts of school districts such as Burlington that
one sees input/output theories at work.